VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Luol Deng, former NBA player and architect of the South Sudan men’s basketball program that reached its first Olympics this summer, accused officials of bias against his players and called for more African representation among referees after his team’s historic run came to an end with a 96-85 loss to Serbia on Saturday night.
Deng, who is the president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation and an assistant coach for the team, highlighted the free-throw disparity between the two teams (31-6) and made it clear he believed there were underlying reasons for the massive gap.
“I’ve been a part of a lot of games my whole career, and coaching for the last two and a half years (and) I thought it was deliberate — blatantly,” Deng, who has funded the program out of his own pocket for years now, said to a group of reporters in the media mixed zone afterward. “We couldn’t be as aggressive as they are. I know that Serbia is known for basketball. They’ve been great for many years. The way (they play), it’s almost like the refs know them. So it’s okay for the refs, if they know certain players, to let them play their style?
“As soon as our guys play their style, we’re getting (called for fouls) every time. It’s almost like there’s a narrative, and a stigma, that’s out there that these African players are aggressive. And as soon as they’re just as aggressive, (the calls) aren’t there.”
Deng, whose program was playing in its first Olympics after the country gained independence in 2011, then questioned the lack of African referees in the Olympics system.
Just one of the 30 referees officiating men’s and women’s basketball at the Olympics is from an African federation, according to the list FIBA announced in July. In its announcement, FIBA said every referee at the Olympics had worked in either a men’s or women’s World Cup, with 17 of the 30 returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
“I don’t know why there (are) no African referees in the Olympics,” he continued. “It’s 2024. I don’t know what’s the reason for that. You can say whatever you want to say, but if we’re representing the continent then we’ve got to be representing it fully.
“That’s something that we’ve got to keep on working on. But if these referees are not familiar with our game or our style, then I don’t know what the World Championships or the Olympics (are). Is it just the European basketball style, and we’re not allowed to be aggressive?”
When asked whether he believes the issue is racial or cultural, Deng offered more clarity regarding his view.
“I didn’t say racial,” he said. “I don’t know why (the question) is going there. I’m just focusing on the continent. There’s all races in our continent. … I’m just saying that we’re not allowed to be as aggressive, and I think the refs are familiar with this style of play and they allowed them to play their style. Now, we’re not allowed to match their style. That’s all I’m saying.”
“This is not something that I’m just making up,” he continued. “Everybody knows there’s a huge disrespect to African basketball. But at the same time, we’ve got to develop basketball on the continent. We’ve got to bring facilities and develop our refs, and develop our coaches and so on. We know that. But also, there’s a mindset of African style, African basketball, and, you know, it showed completely.”
A few more trips to the line certainly would have helped South Sudan, which trailed by just one point (72-71) with approximately nine minutes left in the game. By the time it was over, Serbian star and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić had twice as many free throw attempts (12) as the entire South Sudanese squad.
He finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while fellow Serbian star (and Atlanta Hawks guard) Bogdan Bogdanović had 30 points and eight assists. Serbia qualified for the knockout round in Paris, and will face Australia on Tuesday.
After the game ended, South Sudan coach and fellow former NBA player, Royal Ivey, shook hands with nearly all of the Serbian coaches and players before shouting at the referees on his way off the floor. Like Deng, he was incensed by the way his team’s inspirational run ended.
“(The referees) wouldn’t talk to me,” said Ivey, who has been the South Sudan coach since May 2021. “They gave me a technical. They were worried about my bench standing up. They were worried about me crossing the line instead of reffing the game.
“What does me crossing the line (have) to do with with the game? What is my bench standing up have anything to do with the game? I need an answer. Explain it to me. I’m baffled.”
“It was blatant tonight,” Ivey said. “It was very blatant. And I had to keep my cool because he threatened to throw me out of the game. And I’m not going to make it me versus the refs. But my guys are in there in tears because they gave it their all. They gave it their all. They put it all on the line. They put it all on the line, for the results to come out to this. I’d rather lose by 30 than have this happen to us.”
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(Photo: Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP via Getty Images)
